DONATIONS OF ADDITIONAL PDFs OF MANUALS FOR COMMUNICATIONS TEST EQUIPMENT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
In September 2014, some of the test equipment manuals
(Boonton, Fluke, and some miscellaneous others) were transferred to the
BAMA (Boat Anchor Manual Archive) web
site as they were not pertinent to the concept and purpose of this web site.
In October 2014, more of the test equipment manuals (Heath, Marconi, Tektronix, Triplett,
and CT Systems/Wavetek) were transferred to KO4BB's
web site to be hosted there. Click on "Manuals" then use the search tool to find a
manual based on the manufacturer or model number.
Please send future manuals for the above manufacturers to the BAMA or KO4BB web sites.
We will continue to host manuals for companies whose main business is communications
test equipment.
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Aeroflex / IFR Index
Information and modifications for test equipment manufactured by Instrument
Flight Research corp, better known as IFR, which was bought by Aeroflex in 2002.
In 2014 Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions bought Aeroflex. The Cobham web
site no longer has any info on Aeroflex or IFR.
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Agilent / HP / Keysight Index
Information and Manuals for test equipment manufactured by Agilent / HP / Keysight corporation (or whatever their name is this week).
This is just a placeholder page. As Info / PDFs arrive they will be added... Donations are welcome...
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Automated Industrial Electronics Corp Model 2TSG-1
Two Tone Generator Instruction Manual 986 kB PDF file
As a result of a request made in a comment thread on the repeater-builder mailing
list John Kernkamp WB4YJT scanned his manual, took a front
panel photo and sent both in.
This is a unit that can generate two very clean audio tones from 10 Hz to 9.999 kHz,
and send tone A or a two-tone A-B sequence with variable delay, duration and level. It
was a very popular service monitor add-on for doing CTCSS generation, tone burst,
single tone, or sequential two-tone pagers. While they call it an "instruction manual"
it contains all available documentaton including service info and schematics.
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Bird Electronic Corp. Index Information
on RF products including the Thruline™ and Termaline™ wattmeters and dummy loads.
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Coaxial Dynamics Inc (Coaxial, or CDI, at
http://www.coaxial.com) makes Bird compatible
and clone products, such as wattmeters, elements, and dummy loads. Their elements
are interchangeable with Bird equivalents (same sizes, ranges, etc) and at one time
they were a bit less-expensive than Bird's. Their 81000 meter is functionally
equivalent to the classic Bird 43 meter, however it has a much bigger case and
a much bigger mirrored-scale meter, great for us older folks who have problems
reading the small numbers on the Bird meter. You may see similar-looking meters for
sale, with labeled as Sola, Sola Basic, or Dielectric. This product line was bought
out by CDI.
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Cushman Electronics Index Information about communications test equipment manufactured in the 1970s and 1980s by Cushman.
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GAW SINAD / Distortion / Voltmeter
Model 1410 215 kB PDF file courtesy of Geoff Fors WB6NVH
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General Dynamics — see Motorola further down this page. Motorola rebrands several GD product lines as their own.
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Helper Instruments Index
Information for test equipment manufactured by the old Helper Instruments Company.
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Lampkin Type 107B Digital Frequency Meter and
Type 107C Communication Service Monitor Operation and Service Manual
4.1 MB PDF file dated Oct 1972 compliments of Greg Miller K2GTM
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Measurements (AIE) Corp. Model FM-110 Communications
Service Monitor Manual 6.8 MB PDF file
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Measurements (Boonton) Corp. Model 560FM Standard
Signal Generator Manual 1.4 MB PDF file Courtesy of Bob WA1MIK
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Motorola Test Equipment Index
Motorola has made their own test equipment or private-labeled other manufacturers
(like Measurements Corp., General Dynamics or Boonton) since the late 1940s. They've also worked
with other companies to design specialized equipment, like the telephone line test set that
was co-designed with Triplett and made by them, but sold by both.
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Ramsey Electronics Index had a
few pieces of radio and communications test equipment. Unfortunately they no longer
sell kits.
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Telonic 1019 Sweep Signal
Generator Manual 3.2 MB PDF file
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VIZ WD-76x series Digital
Wattmeters Manual 410 kB PDF file courtesy of Eric Lemmon WB6FLY.
See the article below about improving the WD-766A.
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There's about 1GB of additional Test Equipment information that was sent to repeater-builder
anonymously on a DVD. It's stored at our sister-site
that can be found here.
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Several other manufacturers also make radio and communications test equipment.
You may find more information on their respective index pages on this site.
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Some of the standard techniques for measuring receivers and transmitters involve measuring AC voltage levels at audio frequencies.
Be careful with the meter you use... many common multimeters are oriented towards 60 Hz AC power and will not read correctly at common audio test frequencies... My Fluke 73 is only accurate to about 500 Hz. A friend reports that his Fluke 77 rolls off at around 1 kHz. Some of the newer Flukes are good to 20 KHz. Before you use a DVM as a measurement reference you will want to see what it reads compared to an occiloscope at selected frequencies from 50 Hz to 5 KHz.
And a 20 db quieting measurement involves reading a difference in noise signal level (20 dB is 10:1 voltage ratio, or 100:1 power ratio), and noise is a mix of all frequencies in the IF bandwidth... DC to about 4-5 KHz... a DVM won't display the noise as an average like a mechanical meter does... it will be jumping around as it samples the recovered audio.
Personally I use a Simpson 260 or a Triplett 630 for 20 dB tests.
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Some equipment have a fuse that looks like a 1/8 watt resistor... I first found them
in Spectras, Maxtracs and GM300s. They usually have a solid color epoxy body in green, yellow,
orange or gold.
The original manufacturer is Littelfuse Corp, and they named it a "Pico Fuse". Other
companies now make similar and interchangeable products, for example
Buss / Bussmann makes the "Microtron" "MCR" fuses.
Two forms are made: one is axial, about the size and shape of a 1/4 or 1/8 watt resistor; the other
is a small cylindrical plug-in element a little smaller than a pencil eraser. The name
"Pico Fuse" is a Littelfuse corporate trademark, but has become synonymous with
the fast acting fuse in either shape.
They're available from 1/16 Amp through 15 Amps, fast-blow and slow-blow. I don't know if Digikey and Mouser still have a minimm order but
the 2 amp green-bodied Pico Fuse (Littlefuse part number 251002) that is used in Maxtracs and GM300s is also available from Amazon as
https://www.amazon.com/Littelfuse-251002-125V-AXIAL-acting/dp/B005DNQTG8.
Amazon actually stocks the 1/16 amp green Pico Fuse (part number 0251.062) used in some Motorola equipment...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012DNXMWY.
Some series of Pico Fuses use a color band system, some have the actual value printed on the body.
Thanks to VE1AJF who had an older catalog on the shelf here's the color band conversion information:
PICO II Fast Acting Fuses - Color code:
The fuse body has 4 bands... The last band is a wide band... Read them from left to right with the WIDE BAND on your right.
Values are in MILLIAMPERES ....wide band being red indicates FAST ACTING.
| Amps | Current | First Band | Second Band | Third Band
(Multiplier) |
| 4/100 | 40.0 mA | yellow | black | black |
| 1/16 | 62.0 mA | blue | red | black |
| 1/8 | 120 mA | brown | red | brown |
| 1/4 | 250 mA | red | green | brown |
| 3/8 | 370 mA | orange | violet | brown |
| 1/2 | 500 mA | green | black | brown |
| 3/4 | 750 mA | violet | green | brown |
| 1 | 1000 mA | brown | black | red |
| 1.5 | 1500 mA | brown | green | red |
| 10 | 10000 mA | brown | black | orange |
You should get the picture... Same as resistor colors.
So an ORANGE, BLACK, RED, WIDE-RED would be a 3000 ma (3 amp) fast acting fuse.
In the abbreviated catalogue I have - chart shows common fuse values as above up to and including 15Amps.
Note.....the 12 and 15A fuses are rated at 32volts whereas the smaller sizes are rated 125volts (in the catalog I have).
73 - Gord VE1AJF
Jameco, Digikey and Mouser all sell these fuses, and they aren't inexpensive, but I'd
rather change a fuse than try to repair a service monitor RF input or attenuator output.
Here's a 214 kB PDF datasheet for the Littlefuse series 251 and 253 axial fuses.
Another slightly smaller type (still a Pico Fuse) is the Littelfuse 265/266/267 series:
265 = Standard Series with straight leads,
266 = Standard Series with bent leads,
267 = Military Grade with straight leads.
Here's a 950 kB PDF datasheet.
A lot of equipment, including many HP, IFR and Motorola spectrum analyzers and
service monitors, have an RF fuse inside the input or output BNC jacks.
I've found 1/16, 1/10 and 1/8 Amp used. This is one place you find the second form of Pico Fuse,
a small cylindrical plug-in element a little smaller than a pencil eraser.
As an example the Motorola R2600 service monitor uses a 1/16 amp
Littlefuse 273 series "Micro" fuse
that is 1/4 inch in diameter (6.35 mm), part number 273001, Motorola replacement fuse GG-6530277C002,
that is stocked by Mouser.
The reddish-brown cylindrical fuses (with two pins on one end) that are 0.33 inch (8.5 mm) in diameter are Series
370 "Fast-Acting",
372 "Time Lag",
373 "Quick-Acting",
374 "Time Lag",
382 "Time Lag", and
383 "Time Lag".
Depending on the series they are available in 40 mA (yes, milliamps) through 10 Amps.
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This page initially created 30-March-2009 by splitting all of the Cushman, HP and IFR
information away from the Other Manufacturer's page. Other brands were added later.
This web site, the information presented in and on its pages and in these
modifications and conversions is © Copyrighted 1995 and (date of last
update) by Kevin Custer W3KKC and multiple originating authors. All Rights
Reserved, including that of paper and web publication elsewhere.
